How to Trace an IP Address From an Email
When you continue to receive spam e-mail despite your request to be removed from the sender's e-mail list, you may sometimes feel like there is nothing further you can do. Don't be passive about this matter any longer. Instead, take an active approach to find out where the spam is coming from. You can do it by tracing the Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with the e-mail's sender. Once you find out where the message comes from, you are armed to take action by reporting the abuse to the appropriate authority.
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Instructions
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1
Launch your e-mail program and locate the message you want to trace. Double-click on the message to open it.
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2
Open the message header. To open the header in Outlook Express, click on the Message tab, find the icon labeled “Mark as Unread.” Underneath the icon you will see a very small "Options" box. Click on the Options box.
For instructions on how to retrieve e-mail headers using an e-mail program other than Outlook Express, see Resources for this article .
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3
Look for the “Internet Headers” box located at the bottom of the “Message Options” window. The IP address will appear as a series of numbers, preceded by the words “Received From.” For example, "Received From 65.217.99.141." Make a note of the IP address.
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4
Launch your MS-DOS program (Command Prompt). You can do this by clicking on your Windows “Start” button and performing a search for “Command.” Double click on the DOS program to open it.
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5
Type "tracert" (for "Trace Route") at the MS-DOS blinking prompt. Hit the space bar on your computer one time. Type the IP address that was noted in Step 3.
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6
Press Enter on your keyboard. The trace route will begin to run a series of “hops” to get to the destination server. At the top of the trace route you will see the words “Tracing Route To” followed by a server address. For example, “ir1.fp.vip.ac4.domainname.com.” Make a note of the server address.
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7
Find out who owns the server that was traced by using the "Who Is" database (see Resources). Simply type the name of the server into the "Who Is" search box and select the Search option.
In the search results you will see the name and contact information for the company that owns the server. In many cases, there will also be an e-mail address listed that will allow you to report abuse or spam coming from the server. If no abuse address is listed, dial the contact number provided in the "Who Is" search results to report the abuse.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit spam zapper image by Robert Young from Fotolia.com
